Mikkelsen to spend night in hospital following crash

Defending Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion Andreas Mikkelsen will spend Saturday night in hospital following his accident on stage 12 of the Donnelly Group Circuit of Ireland Rally.

Mikkelsen was challenging for victory on the event when he slid into protected hay bales at high speed after being caught out under braking on a wet surface.

Although co-driver Ola Fløene was uninjured, Mikkelsen reported feeling dazed when he eventually reached the stage finish following a delay of approximately 40 seconds.

“After complaining of feeling unwell, Andreas was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure where it was discovered that he has a perforated right eardrum, which will heal,” said a spokesperson for ŠKODA UK Motorsport. “As a further precaution Andreas will have a CT scan in the morning, although this is purely a precaution.”

Despite his accident, Mikkelsen was able to reach the finish of the event in second overall to maintain his lead at the top of the IRC drivers’ standings after three rounds.

Andreas Mikkelsen has been passed fit following precautionary hospital checks last night.

The defending Intercontinental Rally Challenge champion felt slightly unwell after his car slid at high speed into reinforced hay bales on the Donnelly Group Circuit of Ireland Rally’s first Lisburn stage on Saturday afternoon.

Following the precautionary checks, Mikkelsen was back at the event headquarters in Armagh this morning where he took part in a prize draw for volunteer marshals.

“Andreas is absolutely fine and will carry on with his normal activities as normal,” said a spokesperson for Mikkelsen’s team, ŠKODA UK Motorsport.

Despite the incident in Lisburn, the 22-year-old Mikkelsen was able to finish in a highly credible second place on the asphalt event, his third podium placing out of three IRC starts this season.

MIKKELSEN ON FACEBOOK

BLOG STATUS

DISCLAIMER

Team Mikkelsen is a fan blog dedicated to the Norwegian Andreas Mikkelsen IRC driver. We don't have financial interest. Just entertainment. All material published on this blog is properly credited. If any published material that is inappropriate let us know to remove it.